Design Accuracy and Integrated Engineering Reduce CAPEX & Engineering Costs

Client Profile:

Founded in 1967, PETROLTERV is an engineering design and consulting company, based in Szeged, Hungary. The company has in-house teams focused on process control system engineering, mechanical engineering, equipment design, civil engineering, electrical engineering and GIS/geodesy. Using the expertise of these teams, PETROLTERV can provide complete service on complex projects while remaining environmentally responsible during the preparatory and planning phases of those projects. The company traditionally delivered projects for the oil and gas industry; however, with the aid of state-of-the-art software such as aspenONE Engineering, they also serve other industries (chemical, agriculture, and heavy).

Business Challenge:

PETROLTERV revamped the gas treatment technology at Hungary’s largest underground gas storage facility to meet new European (EN) standards. The new standard imposed more stringent hydrocarbon and water dew point requirements for natural gas handling systems than what was prevalent earlier. The site had three gas treatment trains each employing a TEG (Triethylene glycol) dehydration unit and a low temperature separation (LTS) unit, which employed a propane refrigeration system and brazed aluminium heat exchangers (BAHX). The company’s primary objective was to optimize the processes employed by their client, while also delivering the work at a minimum cost, which they aimed to do by keeping their outsourced work to a minimum. For this, they needed an integrated process simulation/design solution that could handle more than just process simulation. They required the solution to handle rigorous heat exchanger design and rating, the design of dehydration units, acid gas treatment units, flare systems and pressure safety valves.

After carefully assessing the solutions available in the market, the company selected the aspenONE Engineering suite from AspenTech— a single process simulation software platform that seamlessly integrated all the required capabilities.

Strategies Adopted and Solutions Deployed:

PETROLTERV deployed the aspenONE Engineering solution to redesign the gas treatment technology at Hungary’s largest underground gas storage (UGS) system, Zsana UGS, with a 2170 Mm3 working gas capacity to meet new gas quality requirements stipulated by EN standards. Using Aspen HYSYS and its seamless integration with Aspen Exchanger Design & Rating (EDR), the team could rigorously simulate the propane-based refrigeration system and the brazed aluminium heat exchanger operation to determine new design alternatives to meet the new stringent standards.

The following modifications were proposed to meet the new requirements:

• Increase the capacity of the refrigeration units

• Replace the refrigerant medium

• Change existing BAHX units and install filter separators to protect the new heat exchangers

   

   

Benefits Realized:

PETROLTERV estimates that the integrated aspenONE Engineering suite of products:

• Saved up to $400,000 on CAPEX via greater design accuracy
• Reduced costs by enabling PETROLTERV to perform design projects that were previously outsourced
• Helped complete projects on time and on budget

Keywords: AspenTech, PETROLTERV, aspenONE Engineering suite, Hungary, ARC Advisory Group.